Azimio leader Raila Odinga is yet to get a formal invitation to talks with President William Ruto, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Director of Communication Philip Etale confirmed on Wednesday, July 26.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Etale stated that the opposition is willing to engage, but on issues that affect Kenyans. He reiterated that the coalition wants to hold the government to account.
Top issues that the opposition wants to be featured in any future talks include lowering the cost of living, an all-inclusive process of reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), auditing the IEBC servers and respect for the political parties.
"He (Raila) just saw it on Twitter just like everyone else. In any case, Raila has maintained that Azimio is ready to hold talks in a structured way, meaningful talks that will address the issues Kenyans and Azimio are raising," Etale stated.
Ruto on Tuesday sent a cryptic message that he is open to talks with the opposition leader, just hours after Raila revealed that Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu came to mediate but was kept waiting for two days before leaving frustrated.
The nature and structure of the talks are still not clear yet, but Raila and his opposition brigade are likely to respond to the invitation in what would bring down the political temperatures that the country has witnessed in the past weeks.
Already, some leaders in the Ruto camp have welcomed the talks but have cautioned they would not allow dialogue where the former premier might get a share of the government.
"Protests and dialogue are not a route to any kind of government. We can talk about everything else apart from power sharing and opening the decision Kenyans made on August 2022," Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro stated.
Azimio bipartisan talks team chair and MP for Rarieda Otiende Amollo has expressed his confidence that a truce can be reached and key issues addressed, but warns of potential hardliners who might scuttle progress.
" In any such situation, there are hardliners who think that whatever comes may come but there are the moderates who think there are lines we can take. On our side, there must be both. The more challenging side is the Kenya Kwanza regime," Amollo told Spice FM.
Particularly, Amollo has noted that differences might emerge between Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua over possible concessions that their side can make to the opposition.
"The sense is that there is a difference of thought in terms of the president and his deputy in terms of dialogue and its structure. The president's side is fearful of any talks that take us to 2022 such as the opening of the servers. They only want to have a conversation for 2027. The DP thinks that any sort of dialogue might put them in jeopardy," Amollo noted.
Both sides have in the past ruled out the possibility of a "handshake" to iron out issues raised by both sides. Tuesday's announcement came as a surprise to many, following weeks of chest-thumping from both parties.
Raila has in the past ruled out dialogue, claiming that Ruto can not be trusted, while the President has accused the opposition leaders of trying to find a backdoor to join the government.
